U.S. patent application number 15/724829 was filed with the patent office on 2018-04-05 for door handle assembly with a magnetic field detector.
The applicant listed for this patent is Huf North America Automotive Parts Mfg. Corp.. Invention is credited to James Sanborn.
Application Number | 20180094463 15/724829 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61757854 |
Filed Date | 2018-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180094463 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sanborn; James |
April 5, 2018 |
DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY WITH A MAGNETIC FIELD DETECTOR
Abstract
A door handle for a vehicle is disclosed. The door handle
includes a housing, a handle, a hall sensor, a magnet and a
paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material. The housing is attached to
the vehicle. The handle is mounted to the housing and is movable
between a home position and an actuated position relative to the
housing. The hall sensor is attached to one of the housing and the
handle. The magnet is attached to the other one of the housing and
the handle. The magnet is surrounded by a magnetic field. The
paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material is disposed between the
handle and the housing and operable to direct the magnetic field
from the magnet toward the hall sensor.
Inventors: |
Sanborn; James; (Hudson,
MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Huf North America Automotive Parts Mfg. Corp. |
Milwaukee |
WI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
61757854 |
Appl. No.: |
15/724829 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62404274 |
Oct 5, 2016 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B 85/10 20130101;
E05B 47/0038 20130101; E05B 81/76 20130101; E05B 85/16 20130101;
G01D 5/145 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E05B 81/76 20060101
E05B081/76; E05B 85/10 20060101 E05B085/10; G01D 5/14 20060101
G01D005/14 |
Claims
1. A door handle for a vehicle, the door handle comprising: a
housing attached to the vehicle; a handle mounted to the housing
and movable between a home position and an actuated position
relative to the housing; a hall sensor attached to one of the
housing and the handle; a magnet attached to the other one of the
housing and the handle, the magnet being surrounded by a magnetic
field; and a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material disposed
between the handle and the housing and operable to direct the
magnetic field from the magnet toward the hall sensor.
2. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the hall sensor is disposed
on a printed circuit board.
3. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the hall sensor is operable
to detect a change in a magnetic field between the handle and the
housing.
4. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the hall sensor is separate
from a printed circuit board disposed within the handle.
5. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a
handle cap, the magnet being attached to the handle cap.
6. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the paramagnetic or
ferromagnetic material has a frustoconical shape having a first end
defining a first diameter and a second end defining a second
diameter greater than the first diameter, the first end positioned
adjacent the hall sensor.
7. The door handle of claim 6, wherein the paramagnetic or
ferromagnetic material is operable to increase an operating
distance between the hall sensor and the magnet.
8. The door handle of claim 7, wherein the hall sensor is outside
the magnetic field of the magnet in the actuated position.
9. The door handle of claim 1, wherein the hall sensor is a Hall
Effect sensor.
10. A sensor system comprising: a base; a first housing attached to
the base; a second housing mounted to the base and movable between
a home position and an actuated position relative to the first
housing; a sensor attached to one of the first housing and the
second housing and configured to detect a change in magnetic field;
a magnet attached to the other one of the first housing and the
second housing, the magnet being surrounded by a magnetic field;
and a magnetic field extender disposed between the first housing
and the second housing and operable to direct the magnetic field
from the magnet toward the sensor.
11. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic field
extender comprises a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material.
12. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic field
extender has a frustoconical shape having a first end defining a
first diameter and a second end defining a second diameter greater
than the first diameter, the first end positioned adjacent the
sensor.
13. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic field
extender is operable to increase an operating distance between the
sensor and the magnet.
14. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is disposed
on a printed circuit board.
15. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is operable
to detect a change in the magnetic field between the first housing
and the second housing.
16. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is separate
from a printed circuit board.
17. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is outside
the magnetic field of the magnet in the actuated position.
18. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is within the
magnetic field of the magnet in the home position.
19. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is outside
the magnetic field of the magnet in the actuated position.
20. The sensor system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is a Hall
Effect sensor.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 62/404,274, filed Oct. 5, 2016, the contents
of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to a vehicle door
handle assembly that includes a magnetic field detector such as a
Hall Effect sensor.
BACKGROUND
[0003] This section provides background information related to the
present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
[0004] Generally, a Hall Effect sensor or a magnetic field detector
is a transducer that varies its output voltage in response to a
magnetic field. Hall Effect sensors have various applications that
include proximity switching, positioning, speed detection, and
current sensing applications, among others. In some examples, the
Hall Effect sensor operates as an analogue transducer; while in
other examples, the Hall Effect sensor operates in a digital mode.
While operating as an analogue transducer, the Hall Effect sensor
returns a voltage. As such, the distance from the Hall plate (also
referred to as the magnet) of the Hall Effect sensor may be
determined. While operating in a digital mode, the Hall Effect
sensor acts in an On/Off mode. As such, the Hall Effect sensor may
be identified as a switch.
[0005] FIG. 1A illustrates a Hall Effect Sensor activated by an
external magnetic field. As shown, the magnetic field includes flux
density and polarity (e.g., North Pole (N) and South Pole (S)). The
output signal from the Hall Effect sensor is the function of
magnetic flux density around the device. In some examples, the
magnetic flux density around the sensor exceeds a certain pre-set
threshold. In this case, the sensor detects the magnetic flux
density and generates an output voltage called the Hall Voltage
V.sub.H.
[0006] With continued reference to FIG. 1A, the Hall Effect sensor
includes a thin piece of semiconductor material also known as the
Hall element. For example, the Hall element may be a thin piece of
rectangular p-type semiconductor material, passing a continuous
current though itself. When the sensor is placed within a magnetic
field, the magnetic flux lines exert a force on the semiconductor.
As such, the magnetic flux lines deflect the charge carriers,
electrons and holes, to either side of the semiconductor slab. The
movement of the electrons and holes results in a potential
difference between the two sides of the semiconductor slab. In some
examples, the magnetic flux lines are perpendicular to the flow of
current and are of correct polarity (i.e., generally the south
pole, as shown) to generate a potential difference across the
sensor device.
[0007] In some examples, and referring to FIG. 1B, the Hall Effect
sensor 2 is positioned within a door handle of a vehicle. The
external magnet 6 is positioned at a distance (d) from the Hall
Effect sensor 2, allowing the Hall Effect sensor 2 to be within the
magnetic field 8 of the magnet 2 in a first position, and to be
outside the magnetic field 8 in a second position. As such, the
Hall Effect sensor may be used to determine an open or closed
position of the door handle of the vehicle, which may result in
locking or unlocking of the vehicle. As shown in the graph of FIG.
1C, as the position and/distance between the Hall Effect sensor 2
and the external magnet 6 changes (i.e., increases), the Hall
Effect sensor 2 may be moving to an area outside the magnetic field
8 of the external magnet 6. As such, when designing a door handle
of a vehicle that includes a Hall Effect sensor 2, the external
magnet 6 associated with the Hall Effect sensor 2 has to be placed
within a distance (d) from the Hall Effect sensor 2 that falls
within the magnetic field 8 of the external magnet 6.
SUMMARY
[0008] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure,
and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of
its features.
[0009] According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides a
door handle for a vehicle. The door handle includes a housing, a
handle, a hall sensor, a magnet and a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic
material. The housing is attached to the vehicle. The handle is
mounted to the housing and is movable between a home position and
an actuated position relative to the housing. The hall sensor is
attached to one of the housing and the handle. The magnet is
attached to the other one of the housing and the handle. The magnet
is surrounded by a magnetic field. The paramagnetic or
ferromagnetic material is disposed between the handle and the
housing and operable to direct the magnetic field from the magnet
toward the hall sensor.
[0010] Implementations of the disclosure may include one or more of
the following optional features. In some implementations, the hall
sensor is disposed on a printed circuit board. The hall sensor may
be operable to detect a change in a magnetic field between the
handle and the housing. The hall sensor may be separate from a
printed circuit board disposed within the handle.
[0011] In some examples, the housing includes a handle cap. The
magnet may be attached to the handle cap. The paramagnetic or
ferromagnetic material may have a frustoconical shape having a
first end defining a first diameter and a second end defining a
second diameter greater than the first diameter. The first end may
be positioned adjacent the hall sensor. The paramagnetic or
ferromagnetic material may be operable to increase a distance
between the hall sensor and the magnet. The hall sensor may be
outside the magnetic field of the magnet in the actuated position.
In some implementations, the hall sensor is a Hall Effect
sensor.
[0012] Another aspect of the disclosure provides a sensor system.
The sensor system includes a base, a first housing portion, a
second housing portion, a sensor, a magnet, and a magnetic field
extender. The first housing portion is attached to the base. The
second housing portion is mounted to the base and is movable
between a home position and an actuated position relative to the
first housing. The sensor is attached to one of the first housing
and the second housing, and is configured to detect a change in
magnetic field. The magnet is attached to the other one of the
first housing and the second housing. The magnet is surrounded by a
magnetic field. The magnetic field extender is disposed between the
first and second housing and operable to direct the magnetic field
from the magnet toward the sensor.
[0013] This aspect may include one or more of the following
optional features. In some implementations, the magnetic field
extender includes a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material. The
magnetic field extender may have a frustoconical shape having a
first end defining a first diameter and a second end defining a
second diameter greater than the first diameter. The first end may
be positioned adjacent the sensor. The magnetic field extender may
be operable to increase a distance between the sensor and the
magnet.
[0014] In some examples, the sensor is disposed on a printed
circuit board. The sensor may be operable to detect a change in the
magnetic field between the first and second housing. The sensor may
also be separate from a printed circuit board. The sensor may be
outside the magnetic field of the magnet in the actuated position.
In some implementations, the sensor is within the magnetic field of
the magnet in the home position. Additionally or alternatively, the
sensor may be outside the magnetic field of the magnet in the
actuated position. The sensor may be a Hall Effect sensor.
[0015] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. The description and specific examples
in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and
are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1A is perspective view of a prior art Hall Effect
sensor with an external magnet;
[0017] FIG. 1B is another perspective view of the prior art Hall
Effect sensor with the external magnet of FIG. 1A;
[0018] FIG. 1C is a graph displaying the relationship between an
angle of a door handle with respect to a vehicle body and a
magnetic field generated by the external magnet of FIG. 1A;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary Hall Effect
sensor with an external magnet and a magnetic field extender in
accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an exemplary door handle
including the exemplary Hall Effect sensor with the external magnet
and the magnetic field extender of FIG. 2;
[0021] FIG. 3B is an exploded view of the exemplary door handle of
FIG. 3A;
[0022] FIG. 4A is a side view of the exemplary door handle of FIG.
3A;
[0023] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the door handle of FIG.
3A taken along Line 4B-4B of FIG. 4A;
[0024] FIG. 5A is a top view of the exemplary door handle of FIG.
3A;
[0025] FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the door handle of FIG.
3A taken along Line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A; and
[0026] FIG. 6 is graph displaying the relationship between an angle
of a door handle with respect to a vehicle body and a magnetic
field generated by the external magnet of FIG. 2 that is channeled
towards the Hall Effect sensor by the magnetic field extender of
FIG. 2.
[0027] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like
elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] Example configurations will now be described more fully with
reference to the accompanying drawings. Example configurations are
provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully
convey the scope of the disclosure to those of ordinary skill in
the art. Specific details are set forth, such as examples of
specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough
understanding of configurations of the present disclosure. It will
be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that specific
details need not be employed that example configurations may be
embodied in many different forms, and that the specific details and
the example configurations should not be construed to limit the
scope of the disclosure.
[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular exemplary configurations only and is not intended to be
limiting. As used herein, the singular articles "a," "an," and
"the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises,"
"comprising," "including," and "having," are inclusive and
therefore specify the presence of features, steps, operations,
elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or
addition of one or more other features, steps, operations,
elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps,
processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed
as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order
discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an
order of performance. Additional or alternative steps may be
employed.
[0030] When an element or layer is referred to as being "on,"
"engaged to," "connected to," "attached to," or "coupled to"
another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged,
connected, attached, or coupled to the other element or layer, or
intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an
element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaged
to," "directly connected to," "directly attached to," or "directly
coupled to" another element or layer, there may be no intervening
elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the
relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like
fashion (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent"
versus "directly adjacent," etc.). As used herein, the term
"and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the
associated listed items.
[0031] The terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to
describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or
sections. These elements, components, regions, layers and/or
sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be
only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or
section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as,
"first," "second," and other numerical terms do not imply a
sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a
first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below
could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or
section without departing from the teachings of the example
configurations.
[0032] As previously described, when designing a door handle of a
vehicle that includes a Hall Effect sensor 2, careful attention
should be made to the placement of the Hall Effect sensor 2 with
respect to the external magnet 6. Therefore, it is desirable to
design a door handle having a Hall Effect sensor that overcomes the
distance limitation between the Hall Effect sensor and the external
magnet. In so doing, the position of the Hall Effect sensor would
no longer be tied to and limited by the position of the external
magnet, which results in increased design flexibility of the door
handle.
[0033] As shown in FIGS. 2-8, in some examples, a door handle 20
for a vehicle (not shown) includes a housing 22 attached to the
vehicle. The housing 22 may include a base attached to the vehicle
and a handle cap 26 attached to the base 24. A handle 14 may be
mounted to the housing and movable between a home position and an
actuated position relative to the housing 22. For example, when in
the home position, the handle 14 and the handle cap 26 may be
substantially flush with respect to one another when viewed by a
user. While in the actuated position, the handle 14 moves with
respect to the handle cap 26 such that the handle 14 is raised from
the handle cap 26 resulting in an elevation distance between the
handle 14 and the handle cap 24.
[0034] A Hall Effect sensor 12 may be attached to one of the
housing 22 (e.g., the handle cap 26) and the handle 14, while a
magnet 16 is attached to the other one of the housing 22 and the
handle 14. In some examples, the Hall Effect sensor 12 is
positioned on a printed circuit board (PCB) attached to the other
one of the housing 22 and the handle 14. The PCB 30 may include a
button 32 operable to receive an indication from a vehicle user to
lock or unlock the vehicle. In some examples, the indication is a
touch or a push indication. The PCB 30 may include other sensors
and components. Therefore, the location of the Hall Effect sensor
12 and, thus, the PCB 30 including all of its components is not
limited by the position of the magnet 16. Accordingly, the door
handle 20 allows for a more flexible design of the door handle 20.
As such, the button 32 positioned on the PCB 30 is also not limited
to its location adjacent the magnet 16, which provides flexibility
in positioning the button 32 within the handle 14 or the housing
22.
[0035] In some examples (not shown), the Hall Effect sensor 12 may
be positioned on a PCB separate from the PCB supporting the button
32. As such, the location of the PCB supporting the button 32 is
independent of the location of the PCB supporting the Hall Effect
sensor 12. In this case, there is more flexibility in the design of
the door handle 20, as both the button 32 and the hall sensor 12
are not restricted by the position and magnetic field 18 of the
magnet 16.
[0036] The Hall Effect sensor 12 may be in digital mode and may
provide an indication when the handle 14 is in the home position or
the actuated position relative to the housing 22. For example, when
the handle 14 is in the home position, the Hall Effect sensor 12 is
within the magnetic field 18 of the magnet 16. As such, the Hall
Effect sensor 12 may be ON. However, when the handle 14 is in the
actuated position relative to the housing 22, the Hall Effect
sensor 12 is no longer within the magnetic field 18 of the magnet
and the Hall Effect may be OFF.
[0037] The door handle 20 includes the external magnet 16 attached
to the other of the housing 22 (e.g., the handle cap 26) and the
handle 14. The magnet 16 is surrounded by the magnetic field 18. A
magnetic field extender 28 is disposed between the handle 14 and
the handle cap 26. The magnetic field extender 28 directs and
focuses the magnetic field 18 from the magnet 16 towards the hall
sensor 12. In some examples, the magnetic field extender 28
includes a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material. The magnetic
field extender 28 may have a frustoconical shape having a first end
20a defining a first diameter and a second end 28b defining a
second diameter greater than the first diameter, whereby the first
end is positioned adjacent the hall sensor. In other examples, the
magnetic field extender 28 may have a truncated square pyramid
shape where the first end 28a has a square shape having a smaller
area than a square shape of the second end 28b. The magnetic field
extender 28 may have any other shape that extends the magnetic
field 18 of the magnet 16 allowing it to reach the Hall Effect
sensor 12. As such, the distance (d) between the magnet 16 and the
Hall Effect sensor 12 may be increased relative to a prior art
configuration, thereby allowing more flexibility in designing and
positioning the components of the door handle 20 relative to one
another.
[0038] Although the above is described with respect to a door
handle, the same implementation may be applied to a sensor system
20 having a base 24, a first housing 26 attached to the base 24,
and a second housing 14 mounted to the base 24 and movable between
a home position and an actuated position relative to the first
housing 26. For example, the foregoing system may be used in
conjunction with a vehicle door and/or a tailgate to determine a
position of the door and/or tailgate relative to a vehicle body
(i.e., open or closed).
[0039] In such a system, the sensor system 20 may include a sensor
12, such as a Hall Effect sensor or any other sensor operable to
detect a change in magnetic field 18. The sensor 12 is attached to
one of the first housing 26 and the second housing 14 associated
with one of the vehicle door/tailgate and the vehicle body. The
sensor system 20 includes a magnet 16 attached to the other one of
the first housing 26 and the second housing 14 associated with the
other of the vehicle door/tailgate and the vehicle body. The magnet
16 is surrounded by a magnetic field 18. The sensor system 20 may
also include a magnetic field extender 28, disposed between the
first housing 26 and the second housing 14 and operable to direct
the magnetic field 18 from the magnet 16 towards the sensor 12,
extending the reach of the magnetic field and allowing the sensor
12 to be placed at a distance outside the magnetic field 18 of the
magnet 16.
[0040] A number of implementations have been described.
Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may
be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
disclosure. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope
of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the
claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve
desirable results.
* * * * *